


haunted by a ghost of you.

by PatientIsTheNight



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Foreshadowing, Hurt/Comfort, Let Boone Be Happy For Like 5 Seconds 2kForever, Pregnancy, Summaries are not my friend I’m sorry, This is fluff but we all know what happened next
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 02:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20056294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PatientIsTheNight/pseuds/PatientIsTheNight
Summary: “I’ve just been thinking about the world we live in. It’s stupid to think we’ll get to live happily-ever-after and all that. I mean, for all we know, this whole place could be razed down tomorrow. I don’t want you to mope around mourning me forever or get shackled down to remembering me.”-Carla and Boone and a conversation he’d rather forget





	haunted by a ghost of you.

“Craig?”

Boone hummed without opening his eyes, and he felt the bed shift as Carla turned over to face him. “Are you awake?” She said quietly, and he smiled a bit. 

“Mm. Nope.”

She laughed and pressed closer to his side, his arm resting around her shoulders as she settled in against his chest. “Asshole.”

“That’s what they call me.” He ran his fingers through her hair and settled back in to the comfortable silence between them. It was late, and he’d almost gotten to sleep, though it wouldn’t take much to send him right off again. These quiet nights were the only time he had that only belonged to him and Carla, and he intended to make the most of every one he got. He felt Carla shift and sigh restlessly and cracked open an eye to look down at her. “Something on your mind?” His throat was gravelly, but she looked up at him and smiled and he knew she didn’t mind it at all.

“Kind of.” She reached up to run the back of her hand over his cheek, and he leaned into the touch and waited. She always seemed like she was far away, even laying practically on top of him, but he had enough patience to wait until she was ready. “Do you ever think about what’ll happen when we die?”

Boone raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it really wasn’t this. “Uh... like, an afterlife?”

“Well - yes, but no.” She turned to rest her chin on his chest, staring up at him. “I was thinking about... well. One of us is gonna die first, one way or another. So I guess, what’ll happen after that?”

He tightened his arm around her and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Where’d this come from?” He asked, frowning a bit. 

“I’ve been thinking.” She shrugged. 

“I can see that.” He ran his hand through her hair again. The bad thing about Carla always being in her own head was sometimes she started on a track like this, spiraling further and further until she convinced herself that something horrible was coming. 

“I just...” She paused for a moment and sighed again. “It’s gonna happen sooner or later, and I know life’s not gonna stop when it does. And, well.” She took a deep breath and pressed even closer. “When it does, I want you to move on.”

Boone sighed. “I’m probably going to die first. You know that, right?”

Carla laughed and turned over to face him fully, running her hand over his head and resting on his jaw. “Probably.” Her smile faded as she stared up at him, like she was trying to memorize his face. “But it goes for me too. When one of us dies, the other one should - y’know. Live their life to the fullest.”

Boone frowned and caught her hand in his, pulling her closer. “What brought this on?” He asked again. 

“I’ve just been thinking about the world we live in. It’s stupid to think we’ll get to live happily-ever-after and all that. I mean, for all we know, this whole place could be razed down tomorrow.” She ran her thumb under his eye over a small scar. “I don’t want you to mope around mourning me forever or get shackled down to remembering me.”

“Carla-“

“I want you to promise me.” Something in her eyes told him that she wasn’t going to back down from it - she needed him to promise her, for some god-forsaken reason.

But _still._ “I can’t do that.” He said quietly, and she sighed. 

“Then I want you to try.” She leaned up to kiss him gently. “No matter what happens to us, we won’t let it break us.”

Boone wanted this conversation to be over already. Something about it itched under his skin - it felt too much like goodbye, with no clear reason. “Is something going on?” He asked, his frown deepening. He knew that she wasn’t happy in Novac - hell, he wasn’t exactly pleased with the place either - and the locals didn’t exactly get along with her. But what’d made her start thinking along those lines?

“Not yet. But like I said, we’d have to be stupid to pretend it’s not a matter of time-“

“It’s not stupid.” He sat up and pulled her with him, holding her face in his hands. “I made you a promise when I married you. I’m gonna protect you no matter what it takes.”

“Craig-“

_“No matter what.”_ He pressed their foreheads together. “I can’t make you the promise you want, but I can keep this one. No use in thinking about something years away from us.”

She smiled sadly, like she knew something he didn’t. “Always so stubborn.”

He smirked a bit. “I thought that’s what you liked about me.”

Carla laughed at that, flicking one of his ears. “Among other things.” She kissed his cheek and pulled him to lay back down. “You should get some rest. Manny’ll come to get you when his shift’s up.”

Boone shook his head, settling in with Carla glued to his side. “Sure, I’ll sleep great thinking about how my wife’s planning what’ll happen when one of us dies. No problem.”

She rolled her eyes. “Craig.”

“No, see, I’m getting some rest.” He shut his eyes as he heard Carla scoff. “See? Resting.”

“You’re an _idiot.”_

“I can’t hear you over the sound of-“ Carla pushed a pillow over his face, and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing, grabbing her waist and flipping them over. “That’s not helpful.”

“Mm.” She raised her eyebrows. “I thought I was an unhelpful, cold-hearted bitch.”

His smile faltered at that, and his hands tightened. “Who said that?”

“No one important.”

“If someone’s calling my wife a bitch, I’d call that pretty important.”

“You’re gonna have a long list, then.” She smiled again, reaching up to hold his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Boone sighed and dropped back into bed. He was tired, and he did need to sleep before Manny came to get him. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

They settled back down for the night, Boone’s arm around Carla’s waist and holding her tightly against him. Their hands tangled together as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you.” Carla said quietly, and he smiled again. 

“That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

He was almost asleep again when she finally replied in barely more than a whisper. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” He didn’t have time to think about what she meant before he drifted off.

His nightmares were rarely that bad these days, nothing more than vague shadows, but the conversation had set him on edge. His dreams tried to construct a world without Carla, but never seemed to be able to. Which was just as well - he didn’t intend to be living without her anytime soon, so he didn’t see the point of thinking about what he’d do. They were alive and together and working towards a better future, and that’s all that mattered. 

He slept well enough until about half an hour before dawn, when Carla suddenly jumped out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom, snapping Boone back to consciousness. His hand shot for the pistol on his bedside table before he heard her vomiting and gasping, cursing with her spare breaths. He frowned and quickly followed her, holding her hair back and stroking her back until it had finally passed. 

“I’m gonna go get the doctor.” He started to stand up, but she caught his hand in hers. 

“Don’t bother her this early, I’m fine.” She paused for a second before she squeezed his hand. “Besides, I... think I know what’s going on.”

He opened his mouth to ask before he stopped dead in his tracks. She was sick out of nowhere. He’d noticed her looking different, lighter almost, more vibrant. He tried to remember her last period, and-

“Oh, son of a _bitch.”_

Carla burst into laughter as Boone swept her off the floor into his arms, kissing across her face. “Stop that, I’m disgusting.” She squirmed and laughed as he shook his head and kept going, kissing every bit of skin he could get to. 

“Are you _kidding me?”_ He laughed in disbelief, carrying her back to bed and kneeling in front of her. “Fuck, okay, I - Ada’s just gonna have to survive this early, I - are you okay here, do you need anything? I - _fuck.”_

“Breathe, baby.” Carla laughed and pressed their foreheads together, and Boone laughed almost hysterically. Okay, more than a little hysterically. 

“_Baby,_ god, I - we have a baby.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d grinned this much. “Carla, we’re having a _baby.”_

“Yeah.” She smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Yeah, we are.”

He got her settled down and sprinted out of the house without even grabbing shoes or a shirt. He passed by Manny on his way, undoubtedly on his way to wake Boone up for his shift in the Dino-Bite, but he only yelled something he hoped was coherent over his shoulder as he ran to Ada’s trailer.

The next hour or so passed in a blur - Ada followed him back home with minimal grumbling, and quickly confirmed that Carla was about two months along. Manny and Ada both started chattering and offering congratulations, but all Boone could focus on was Carla; exhausted, still a little green around the gills, but so happy it radiated off of her in waves. He heard Manny say something about staying a bit longer to cover Boone’s shift until noon before they left and Boone pulled her into his arms again. 

“Are we ready for this?” He asked, and she shrugged. 

“Is anyone ready these days?” She rested her head in the crook of his neck, curling up against his chest. “Are _you_ ready?”

Boone hadn’t really thought about it. God, he was a father. They only had a few months to get everything ready, and then he’d have their kid for the rest of their lives. It should scare him. It used to be the last thing he ever wanted, but-

“Yeah.” He settled back against their headboard and ran his fingers through her hair, staring out the window as the sun started to creep up over the horizon. “Yeah, I think I am.”

-

The Courier had gotten Boone unholy drunk, and when she’d asked about Carla again, he hadn’t been able to stop the words from spilling out. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her - at this point, she’d saved his ass enough that he didn’t really have a choice. He hesitated to call her a friend, but he found that he didn’t really mind it in this quiet moment at the Lucky 38. 

“Oh, Boone.” She finally said in a quiet voice. He didn’t have to look at her to know that she looked absolutely devastated on his behalf. She wasn’t hard to read, always wearing her heart on her sleeve and her thoughts on her face for all to see, but he didn’t want to see someone else fucking _pity_ him. 

He threw back the rest of his whiskey, sighing through he burn in his throat. “So now you know.” He said simply, and she nodded. 

“Now I know.” They sat in silence for another second before she took his hand and squeezed it. “There’s nothing I can say or do to make it better, and I know that. But thank you for trusting me.”

He shrugged, but didn’t pull away. “It was just a pipe dream, anyway. Should’ve known better.”

“Better than to what? Want a family? _Love_ your family?” Six frowned, and Boone made a point not to look up. “You can’t blame yourself for wanting to be happy, Boone, and you sure can’t blame yourself for what that Crawford bitch did to you.”

He laughed a bit at that. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have more blood with her that I do.”

“Oh, I have blood, alright. She murdered my friend’s family.” He opened his mouth, and she raised a finger. “Uh-uh. It’s not your fault. You didn’t have a choice in the end - she knew what she was doing the entire time. I’d say that sets the blame pretty squarely on her shoulders.”

Boone laughed and shook his head, staring at the bottom of his glass. He lost track of how long they sat like that, Six sitting silently by his side even though he could feel her vibrating from the effort of keeping quiet. He didn’t know where he’d expected to be a year after Carla’s death, but it wasn’t in a penthouse in New Vegas, following some amnesiac mailman on her mission to dip her fingers in as many pies as possible. He didn’t expect to be content with it. He didn’t expect to be excited for tomorrow. 

“Carla hated New Vegas.” He blurted out. He didn’t know where the thought came from, but it dredged up those first memories of when he was still enlisted with a chip on his shoulder, and she was some kind of vision from the Old World untouched by the world around them. “Said when Mary was born, she wanted us to move as far away from it as we could. Kinda ironic, huh?”

Six tightened her hand again. “Then we’re just gonna have to make it better, huh?”

Boone thought about that night, how urgently Carla wanted him to promise to move on. He still didn’t think he could keep that promise - probably never could. But he could do his best.

_No matter what happens to us, we won’t let it break us._

“Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

**Author's Note:**

> I call this one “even the dead wife wants you to move on”
> 
> I kept Six nameless but essentially wrote her as my chaos lesbian, but it’s open to your interpretation 
> 
> I like to think that Boone used to be worlds different from who we see in the game - a bit more talkative, not as uptight and guarded. I also know that Carla is described as essentially being a straight up bitch, but it’s my fic and I can do what I want and I declare it Carla Boone Hours
> 
> Sorry again for the summary, but I’m tired of staring at this draft so here have it


End file.
